


Smoke and Shadows

by EgoDominusTuus



Series: Instinct [2]
Category: Fallout 4
Genre: Alternate Universe, Cause he's pretty foxy, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Pre-Vault, Quinn needs a Fox anyway, Quinn needs comfort anyway, Sil and Quinn Meet, abusive childhood, and it's always the best, daemon AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-03
Updated: 2016-05-03
Packaged: 2018-06-06 02:46:49
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6734806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EgoDominusTuus/pseuds/EgoDominusTuus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Quinn's always been a fox himself, and he's always been a bit different. Having a male Daemon only made sense, really.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Smoke and Shadows

Quincy was always getting me into trouble - then again, I was always getting him into trouble. We were a perfect pair that way. He was always a slinking, dark shape at my heels, laughing at my antics and trying to watch my back as best he could.

  The very fact that Quincy was a  _ he _ , of course, was a cause of ire and malice amongst everyone I knew. My father was especially furious about the discovery of Quincy’s gender. His own great Boar as furious as he was, her dark eyes thick with fury and hatred. Quincy and I had spent the majority of our younger years evading James Francis and Jaina as best we could - I think it was why he settled into a small black fox so early on in our lives. The sleek, beautiful figure of his frame could easily slip up from the basement, and through the kitchen. More often than not, my Father was passed out, with Jaina at his feet. More often than not, Quincy came back downstairs with an excited voice, golden eyes ablaze with delight.

  “Let’s get out of here, quick.” A bushy black tail would flick back and forth, his ears twitching, and he’d instantly put a wet nose to my neck in affection. 

  Quincy was the only one who really gave a damn at the fact that more often than not, I was escaping the house to get a new set of bandages. His presence was a sweet, gentle warmth that gave me the strength to get out of bed when I could feel my ribs cracked. There were nights when the only thing that had given me the peace to sleep was the warmth of his presence curled against my chest. 

  Of course, we’d always been different, he and I. 

  When I was young, I didn't realize that there was something strange about Quincy. We'd simply stayed together, tight knit, watching each others backs. At school, I was ordered not to get close to anyone by my father - I realized that it was out of fear of someone finding out how he treated me. Quincy and I stayed alone on the playground, and then alone in the hallways. It was only as I grew older that people started to approach me, and even then, I could hear some of the students whispering behind my back.

  "It's a male though, didn't you notice?"

  "Who does that."

  "God, he's beautiful, but that's just not right."

  I realized that Quincy was... not like everyone else. Of course, with my roomy leather jacket that covered the bruising on my arms, I wasn't exactly normal. I think that the only reason people approached me at all was because they found me charming - and once people got to know me, they looked past the fact that Quincy's deeper voice wasn't the female tone that they'd expected.

  Honestly, though... in the end, it was just the two of us. People came and went, and I never really felt the type of attachment to them that I should have. They would try to get too close - and I'd learned early on that letting people close to me was a way to find myself broken. 

  I'd brought my first boyfriend home in the early years of Highschool, when I thought that my father was going to be out of town. To my dismay, he wasn't. He and Jaina had ripped Brendan and Bella apart - my father's fists had smashed against his face until I saw blood flying... and it was only me throwing myself in the way of his fist, and Quincy snarling against Jaina's face as the damn boar ripped at Bella's tender stomach that the two could escape.

  Of course, they'd never spoken to us again. 

  Then again, after that, I'd been out of school for a month trying to heal up the wounds that I'd been dealt. Jaina had nearly torn me from navel to sternum - a little deeper, and I wouldn't have made it out of the room at all. My father had told me that he wouldn't have a faggot for a son, and he didn't care if my queer little fox tried to convince me otherwise.

  I'd decided then and there that I was done with the place - and I knew that the answer was one that I'd had all along. I was going to enlist in the military, and there was nothing in this town that would hold me back.

  I didn't really expect anyone to accept us any more there than here, but at least there would be rules, regulations... and at least the two of us would be able to put our skills to use. Quincy and I were quite the team, capable of sneaking past most people. I knew that I was dexterous with my fingers, and quite capable of learning the skills that I needed. 

  I just wanted some type of meaning to my life - I needed it to count for something more than just being Quinn, that beautiful boy who was beaten at least twice a week.

 

-

 

  "It's going to be fine." Quincy's voice was a soft, comforting murmur in my ear. I'd only been on base for three days, and already I could tell that people were looking at us odd. Just as I'd imagined, though, there was no cruelty, no ignoring me. There was training, drills, and respect where respect was earned. It was a lifestyle that I could get used to, and already my body was burning for the next day of punishment that would just make me stronger. I'd realized, after being here for less than a week, that I had more stamina than most of the men in my training group.

  It probably had something to do with all of the injuries that I'd sustained, and all of the time that I'd spent running to wind down... but who knew.

  I could hear one of the boys in my particular squad crying out as I walked from the mess hall to my bunk - and another voice echoed in tandem with his scream. "Don't be such a bitch, Carson. You're making it worse on yourself." 

  "Yeah, you cunt. What are you going to do, cry?"

  "Quinn, wait a minute-" I ignored Quincy's warning though. I was already running towards the noise. Those words made me see red, and I wasn't going to let it stand.

  Three young men were grouped around a boy on the ground - I could see blood in the corner of his mouth. "Go on then, go tell your little boyfriend on us." The tallest one chuckled in malice, lifting back his foot to deliver a kick to the downed boy's ribs.

  I moved in a quick flash, my leg sweeping out to trip the assailant up. His body stumbled forward, and it was only his friend who caught him. 

  "Get off of me, James." The man turned, his eyes vicious burning with fury. Behind him, I heard the chittering laughter of a massive hyena. My eyes widened, even as I felt the warmth of Quincy as my heels. 

  "Who the fuck are you?" The man before me snarled. My eyes flickered to the young man on the ground, and I motioned for him to leave. In his arms, a small feline of some sort was cradled. I frowned. 

  "I said, who the fuck are you!?" 

  I decided that the best way to answer his question was with my fist. With a small growl, Quincy darted forward, latching against the arm of one of his companions. 

  Of course, six on two wasn't really the best idea… but as I watched the other young man stare at me with wide eyes for a moment before managing to scuttle away… it was worth it.

  Even when the damn hyena caught me from behind and sent me toppling to the ground with a resounding thud that knocked the wind from me. 

  I caught an image of black fur flying, and I dove forward in time to catch Quincy in my arm as a flailing arm dislodged him.The feel of him slamming into my chest knocked the breath out of me, and I quickly rolled my body over as a foot sharply connected with my back, where Quincy had been only moments prior. 

   “I’ll kill the both of you.” A vicious voice snarled, and I closed my eyes against the rain of kicks and punches that descended on me.

  For a moment, I wondered if I was going to die - for just a moment, I thought they meant to kill me. And then a voice rang out through the air.

  “At attention - get  _ off  _ of him,  **_now._ ** **”** I could hear authority burn through the words, and the pain in my body instantly stopped. My ears were ringing when I looked up, Quincy still held tight in my arms. I could see the image of a man, blue eyes burning like fury incarnate. The man who had been kicking me said something, and I caught the name  _ Silas…  _ but then the three were slinking off, their leader casting me a furious gaze as he went. 

  It took me two tries to get enough air in my lungs to speak, as the man approached me. I saw the enormous cat behind him, golden like a sunrise and so large that Quincy could have curled between her shoulderblades and hid like smoke and shadows. I coughed once more as he held his hand out to help me up.

  “Thanks for the hand, sir.” He was the  _ most  _ beautiful thing that I’d ever seen in my life - and the cat behind him was like a glowing sunrise, burning in my vision. My fingers slipped into his, and he pulled me to my feet. Fingers swiftly brushed me off, and I managed to hold in my wince as he wiped the dirt from my back. My ribs felt like they were bruised. Whoever that bastard was, I had a feeling this wasn’t the last time I’d be seeing him. 

  He looked me over once, blue eyes still aflame. Quincy was still held tight in my left arm, but he crawled quickly up my shoulder to curl around my neck. The absolute gorgeous devil that had been my knight in shining armor gave me a small expression that was a mix between exasperation and a smile. “Let’s get you fixed up.”

  In my ear, I could hear Quincy murmuring softly about how he’d never seen a cat so big, or a color so beautiful. 

  I’d only seen the color once, and it was honestly funny that Quincy didn’t make the connection. She matched the sweet golden color of his eyes. 


End file.
